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Concentrations of trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead) in tissues (muscle, gills, and digestive gland) of three commercially exploited crustaceans (Portunus sanguinolentus, Charybdis natator, and Penaeus semisulcatus) and three cephalopods (Doryteuthis sibogae, Sepia pharaonis, and Cistopus indicus) were examined. The animals were captured in the waters of Thoothukudi, and the tissues of six individuals of each species were analyzed using ICP-MS. The highest concentrations of arsenic (16.5 μg/g) and mercury (0.052 μg/g) were recorded in the digestive gland of C. natator, and cadmium (69.9 μg/g) and lead (0.351 μg/g) in the digestive gland of S. pharaonis. The edible portion of the crustaceans and cephalopods contained lower concentrations of trace elements, and these were below allowable limits set by the European Union. The edible parts of the investigated samples are safe for human consumption, but accidental contamination of the edible tissues with material from the digestive glands could lead to concerns relating to metal toxicity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A systemic study on the natural radionuclides such as (210)Po and (210)Pb in the environmental matrices and biota of Ennore Creek has been undertaken to establish a baseline data on the radiation profile of Ennore Creek environment. The environmental samples such as water, sediment, and biota (seaweeds, molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes) have been subjected to analyses. It has been observed that the concentration of (210)Po and (210)Pb in the water samples of Ennore Creek as 2.7 and 1.63 m Bq L(-1), respectively. The activity concentration of (210)Po and (210)Pb in the sediment sample was 17.9 and 28.9 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The bivalve mollusk Perna viridis have been identified to accumulate higher concentrations of (210)Po and (210)Pb suggesting that they could serve as bioindicator of radionuclides in the Ennore Creek environment. The committed effective dose for human beings was found at 81.13-216.8 and 2.1-297.2 μSv year(-1) for (210)Po and (210)Pb, respectively.

Fish collected from five different locations from the Calicut region, India were analysed for the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and heavy metal (HM) residues in order to elucidate the status of these chemical contaminants in fish and shellfish meant for human consumption. The highest concentrations of OCPs detected in the edible portion of fish were 10.47, 70.57 and 28.35 ng g-1 wet weight, in marine, brackish water and freshwater, respectively. BHC and heptachlor epoxide formed the major share of OCPs in the marine fish while BHCs contributed to the major share in the freshwater and brackish water fish. The DDT (sum of DDT and its metabolites) ranged from 0.05 to 8 ng g-1 in the samples irrespective of the habitat. Among the HMs, Cu, Zn, Mn and Cr were present in the samples irrespective of the place of collection. About 22% of the samples from the freshwater area contained marginally higher lead content above the legal limit of 0.2-0.4 microg g-1. The Cr content ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 microg g-1 in the fish with marginally higher content in the fish from freshwater and marine regions (0.55-1.1 microg g-1). Mercury was detected in the samples (55%) from marine habitat only. The concentrations of OCPs and HMs in the samples, in general, were below the maximum residual level recommended by various organizations.